Boarding a plane is a completely miserable, time-consuming experience. How often are you left waiting for that oversized man jam his oversized luggage into the undersized overhead compartment? Ridiculous! That's why every airline needs to try this new boarding method. It cuts the time in half.

Amazingly, it was invented by Dr. Jason Steffen, an astrophysicist in his day job but a man more adept at running airplanes than the airlines themselves. In his method, window seats on alternate rows on one side of the plane boards first. Then alternating window seats on the other side. Then alternating middle seats on the original side, then alternating middle seats on the other side. And then on and on and on until the plane is filled. Watch the video, you'll see a perfectly choreographed dance that maximizes aisle space and overhead compartments.

Steffen figured out this method using the Monte Carlo optimization method and promises that it can cut boarding time in half. It won't cure the ineptitude of airlines in other areas but it can make air travel less of a pain in the ass. Delta? United? American? JetBlue? Virgin America? Who's in? [WBEZ via Consumerist]

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